For my devotional this morning, I was in Matthew 16:13-17:5. An up and down passage for Peter...highs and lows...and highs.
First, Jesus pointed out Peter's "glory and honor" as a man blessed by God and as an image-bearer. Jesus greatly honored Peter for his confession of faith in Christ as the Son of God. Calling out or pointing out others' glory and honor gives people great encouragement and strength in life. Such encouragement reminds us who God longs for us to be and also reminds us that by grace we are being restored to the image of Christ.
But, Jesus also let Peter know when he was living as less of a man than he was meant to be. When Peter had a wrong view of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus rebukes him, even saying "Get behind Me, Satan!" Ouch! BUT, what Jesus was really wanting Peter to see, was that he was a better man than he was living and acting out at that moment! Jesus was saying, in effect, "Peter, you're a better man than this! Keep being and becoming the man you were meant to be in grace! Don't fall into the "smaller story" of living a lie! Trust Me and honor Me and expect more from My grace in you!" Jesus was calling forth even more "glory" from Peter.
Now, this is tricky, because, on the one hand, we need to encourage one another. We need to offer each other strength, and the opportunity for life and growth. We need to point out where we see the image of Christ in one another and how we see each other living as we were meant to live. On the other hand, we also need to let people face the possibility of DIScouragement from time to time, when they must realize they are thinking LESS of themselves than God means them to. When we are not living out of the "glory" God has given us in Christ, we need to encourage each other that we are "better men" or better people than how we are acting.
However, when it was all said and done, Jesus again "lifts Peter up" and encourages him once more by honoring Peter through inviting him to join Him on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Of course, the process of repentance and faith continues as Peter acts as less than his glory in Christ again, by saying something stupid about building tents for Jesus and Moses and Elijah! So now, God the Father speaks and says to Peter, in effect, "Shooosh! Be silent! Listen!"
God is ALWAYS calling us to a higher place...to live more and more out of the glory He has shared with us in Christ.
Encouragement. Failure. Rebuke. Repentance. Faith.
Encouragement. Failure. Rebuke. Repentance. Faith....etc
That IS the process of growth in grace.
Live out of your glory...and call others to do the same!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Gospel Pipeline Graphic Takes Shape
I know that for many looking at this graphic, you're thinking, "What????" Please be patient...it will become clear over the next several Sundays of messages...or, over the next several MONTHS of Sundays!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
What exactly IS the Gospel Pipeline?
In 2 Peter 3:18, Peter concludes his letter by encouraging us to keep growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle, Aslan, the Great Lion, the King (the Christ figure of the stories) encourages His people to go "Further Up and Further In" to Narnia...the "Promised Land" of His love, grace and salvation. The Gospel Pipeline gives us a picture of how the "flow" Further Up and Further In often occurs in a Christian's life.
What follows is the Gospel Pipeline Overview:
Gospel Pipeline Overview
1. Gospel Conversion
Titus 2:11; Titus 3:5--Supernatural Grace regenerates the heart
Grace for the entire Christian life is defined by grace at the start!
2. Gospel Diversion
Titus 2:12, 14—The “Basics” often divert the emphasis from Christ to behaviors
There is a tendency to “leave” the Gospel of Christ and focus on the efforts of man
3. Gospel Perversion
Titus 3:1-2—focus on behaviors often lead to a performance paradigm
We live as if God's delight in us is merited or maintained by our performance rather than through Christ
4. Gospel Reversion
Titus 3:7—grace leads us to revert back to focus on Union with Christ
We revert to the TRUE Basics of the Christian life-Identity in Christ
5. Gospel Aversion
Titus 3:8—our flesh resists grace on many levels
We’ve a built-in aversion to looking to Christ alone for spiritual growth
6. Gospel Insertion
Titus 3:8—insistence upon grace leads to an internalization of grace
Grace overcomes our resistance and we eventually adopt a grace paradigm
7. Gospel Immersion
Titus 3:4—soaking in the truth of God’s love leads to the “Hot Tub”
“Getting used” to grace becomes comfortable…sometimes TOO comfortable
8. Gospel Incursion
Titus 2:11-12—grace leads to a hostile invasion against sin by “Waltzing”
We discover grace is not merely unconditional love but transforming power
9. Gospel Emersion
Titus 2:14—A Gospel lifestyle begins to truly emerge from right motives
Grace leads us to make full use of the Gospel Means of Grace
10. Gospel Dispersion
Titus 2:14--The Gospel begins to flow outside ourselves toward others
Grace leads us to mission: we share grace with the Least and the Lost
11. Gospel Assertion
Titus 2:13; 14—grace leads us to assert that the ultimate aim is God’s glory
Grace, ultimately, is not about me or even mission, but the honor of Christ
12. Gospel Recursion
Titus 2:12-13—grace teaches us we never “arrive” in this life
Grace is how broken people with broken lives live in a broken world
What follows is the Gospel Pipeline Overview:
Gospel Pipeline Overview
1. Gospel Conversion
Titus 2:11; Titus 3:5--Supernatural Grace regenerates the heart
Grace for the entire Christian life is defined by grace at the start!
2. Gospel Diversion
Titus 2:12, 14—The “Basics” often divert the emphasis from Christ to behaviors
There is a tendency to “leave” the Gospel of Christ and focus on the efforts of man
3. Gospel Perversion
Titus 3:1-2—focus on behaviors often lead to a performance paradigm
We live as if God's delight in us is merited or maintained by our performance rather than through Christ
4. Gospel Reversion
Titus 3:7—grace leads us to revert back to focus on Union with Christ
We revert to the TRUE Basics of the Christian life-Identity in Christ
5. Gospel Aversion
Titus 3:8—our flesh resists grace on many levels
We’ve a built-in aversion to looking to Christ alone for spiritual growth
6. Gospel Insertion
Titus 3:8—insistence upon grace leads to an internalization of grace
Grace overcomes our resistance and we eventually adopt a grace paradigm
7. Gospel Immersion
Titus 3:4—soaking in the truth of God’s love leads to the “Hot Tub”
“Getting used” to grace becomes comfortable…sometimes TOO comfortable
8. Gospel Incursion
Titus 2:11-12—grace leads to a hostile invasion against sin by “Waltzing”
We discover grace is not merely unconditional love but transforming power
9. Gospel Emersion
Titus 2:14—A Gospel lifestyle begins to truly emerge from right motives
Grace leads us to make full use of the Gospel Means of Grace
10. Gospel Dispersion
Titus 2:14--The Gospel begins to flow outside ourselves toward others
Grace leads us to mission: we share grace with the Least and the Lost
11. Gospel Assertion
Titus 2:13; 14—grace leads us to assert that the ultimate aim is God’s glory
Grace, ultimately, is not about me or even mission, but the honor of Christ
12. Gospel Recursion
Titus 2:12-13—grace teaches us we never “arrive” in this life
Grace is how broken people with broken lives live in a broken world
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
I'm Not Trying to Hurt You, I'm trying to Help You!
In John 8:36, Christ says, "So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." In Galatians 5:1, Paul writes, "For freedom Christ has set us free." The Gospel frees us FROM guilt, shame, self-condemnation and frees us FOR the abundant life! God has a Father's heart toward us that only desires our good...so why do so many followers of Christ see God as a stern Task-Master and the Christian life as oppressive?
God seems "bewildered," if it were possible, by our thoughts and feelings of oppression: In Jeremiah He says, "Why then do my people say, 'We are free, we will come no more to You?'" (Jer 2:31). God is "grieved" and "bewildered" that His people would rejoice in being "freed" from Him and His ways!
When we see God as oppressive or a Task-Master, it is as if, as Paul writes in Galatians 3:1, that someone has cast a hex on us, or put us under a spell. If we forget the good news of the Gospel of grace, we may misinterpret God's heart in His commands and prohibitions: we may feel as if God is some sort of Cosmic Killjoy. But if we keep the Beauty of Christ and God's Fatherly heart always before our eyes, we will remember that ALL God's commands are an invitation to our highest pleasure; and ALL His prohibitions a warning against our worst nightmares.
Any parent who has ever grieved the foolishness of their own children as they make poor decisions leading to painful consequences, can have great insight into the true heart of our Father in heaven.
I'm reminded of the scene in the Lord of the Rings, when Gandalf is warning Bilbo that he must give up the ring...but the ring exerts its evil influence over Bilbo and he goes a little "mad" and accuses Gandalf of only wanting the ring for himself. Gandalf reveals a little of his "glory" and grows "loud" and thunders, "I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm trying to help you!" Bilbo is brought back to reality and runs into Gandalf's arms...that is the picture we must have of our Father in heaven. His heart toward us is good...all the time.
If the Christian life has become oppressive, we've lost focus of the Fatherly heart of God. If the Son sets you FREE, you are FREE indeed!!
God seems "bewildered," if it were possible, by our thoughts and feelings of oppression: In Jeremiah He says, "Why then do my people say, 'We are free, we will come no more to You?'" (Jer 2:31). God is "grieved" and "bewildered" that His people would rejoice in being "freed" from Him and His ways!
When we see God as oppressive or a Task-Master, it is as if, as Paul writes in Galatians 3:1, that someone has cast a hex on us, or put us under a spell. If we forget the good news of the Gospel of grace, we may misinterpret God's heart in His commands and prohibitions: we may feel as if God is some sort of Cosmic Killjoy. But if we keep the Beauty of Christ and God's Fatherly heart always before our eyes, we will remember that ALL God's commands are an invitation to our highest pleasure; and ALL His prohibitions a warning against our worst nightmares.
Any parent who has ever grieved the foolishness of their own children as they make poor decisions leading to painful consequences, can have great insight into the true heart of our Father in heaven.
I'm reminded of the scene in the Lord of the Rings, when Gandalf is warning Bilbo that he must give up the ring...but the ring exerts its evil influence over Bilbo and he goes a little "mad" and accuses Gandalf of only wanting the ring for himself. Gandalf reveals a little of his "glory" and grows "loud" and thunders, "I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm trying to help you!" Bilbo is brought back to reality and runs into Gandalf's arms...that is the picture we must have of our Father in heaven. His heart toward us is good...all the time.
If the Christian life has become oppressive, we've lost focus of the Fatherly heart of God. If the Son sets you FREE, you are FREE indeed!!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Cheap Grace??
It is vital that we distinguish between Biblical grace and what is known as CHEAP grace. Cheap grace carries the perspective that since God is a God of grace and mercy and love, and since we are righteous in Christ and accepted in the Beloved, it doesn't matter how we live. We can sin all we want, or at least treat sin lightly because we are secure in Christ. Notice how the heresy dances on the edges of truth! This is precisely why Paul was accused of teaching cheap grace (Romans 6:1)!!
What we emphasize at Oak Mountain is the two-fold wonder of grace that helps us avoid Cheap Grace: We talk about:
1) Grace as Unconditional Love
2) Grace as Transforming Power
Both elements of grace find their source in the Work of Christ.
Grace as Unconditional Love finds its source in the Imputed Righteousness of Christ to us. The righteous life and substitutionary death of Christ and all their merits are credited to our account. This leads to a believer's justification: God accepting me and delighting in me IN CHRIST just-as-if-I'd never sinned and just-as-if-I'd done everything perfectly my entire life! This is the Christian's confidence and joy and peace in Christ.
Grace as Transforming Power finds its source in Christ as well, but is the result of IMPARTED righteousness. There was the PAST work of Christ which involved His perfect active obedience as He walked this earth and His perfect passive obedience as He submitted Himself to suffering death on the cross and embraced the wrath of God on behalf of His people.
BUT, there is also a PRESENT Work of Christ that involves Him sharing with us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, His actual righteousness...a continual work of grace in us that conforms us more and more to His image. We are renewed daily by grace (as we WALTZ--the 3-step Dance with Christ of Repent, Believe, Fight!) and His righteousness is imparted to us so that we put to death, by the Spirit, that which is sinful in us and we are SUPERNATURALLY renewed moment by moment as Christ shares His resurrection life with us. It is NOT the result of human effort or striving (Gal 3:1-5!).
BUT, and this is KEY: BOTH imputed AND imparted righteousness are experienced by grace through FAITH...by believing the Gospel Promises and hoping continually in the finished work of Christ. Imputed righteousness is GRANTED ONCE, at conversion, but is to be looked back upon over and over as we feel the weight of our daily sin and failure. Imparted righteousness is granted continually as we look to Christ in faith to change us by His grace at our places of repentance!
Both the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ form the "breastplate of righteousness" that we are to put on as part of the armor of God in our battle with the devil. The devil seeks to discourage us that we are not loved and that we are powerless failures. Christ calls us to place no confidence in self or any of our own works, but continual confidence in His righteousness...both imputed and imparted.
May your heart be filled with encouragement over these words!!!
What we emphasize at Oak Mountain is the two-fold wonder of grace that helps us avoid Cheap Grace: We talk about:
1) Grace as Unconditional Love
2) Grace as Transforming Power
Both elements of grace find their source in the Work of Christ.
Grace as Unconditional Love finds its source in the Imputed Righteousness of Christ to us. The righteous life and substitutionary death of Christ and all their merits are credited to our account. This leads to a believer's justification: God accepting me and delighting in me IN CHRIST just-as-if-I'd never sinned and just-as-if-I'd done everything perfectly my entire life! This is the Christian's confidence and joy and peace in Christ.
Grace as Transforming Power finds its source in Christ as well, but is the result of IMPARTED righteousness. There was the PAST work of Christ which involved His perfect active obedience as He walked this earth and His perfect passive obedience as He submitted Himself to suffering death on the cross and embraced the wrath of God on behalf of His people.
BUT, there is also a PRESENT Work of Christ that involves Him sharing with us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, His actual righteousness...a continual work of grace in us that conforms us more and more to His image. We are renewed daily by grace (as we WALTZ--the 3-step Dance with Christ of Repent, Believe, Fight!) and His righteousness is imparted to us so that we put to death, by the Spirit, that which is sinful in us and we are SUPERNATURALLY renewed moment by moment as Christ shares His resurrection life with us. It is NOT the result of human effort or striving (Gal 3:1-5!).
BUT, and this is KEY: BOTH imputed AND imparted righteousness are experienced by grace through FAITH...by believing the Gospel Promises and hoping continually in the finished work of Christ. Imputed righteousness is GRANTED ONCE, at conversion, but is to be looked back upon over and over as we feel the weight of our daily sin and failure. Imparted righteousness is granted continually as we look to Christ in faith to change us by His grace at our places of repentance!
Both the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ form the "breastplate of righteousness" that we are to put on as part of the armor of God in our battle with the devil. The devil seeks to discourage us that we are not loved and that we are powerless failures. Christ calls us to place no confidence in self or any of our own works, but continual confidence in His righteousness...both imputed and imparted.
May your heart be filled with encouragement over these words!!!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Losing Your Life or Finding Your Life?
In Matthew 10:34-39, Jesus says some hard things. Strong medicine...challenges our "soft" culture is not used to. Marine-like stuff...He's still looking for a "few good men" (women too!).
Jesus says that if anyone loves father or mother more than Him, he/she is not worthy of Him. Or if anyone loves son or daughter more than Him, he/she is not worthy of Him...WOW!! Put THAT in our child-centered idolatrous culture "pipe" and smoke it!
He says that if we don't take up a lifestyle of dying to self, of crucifixion of selfish desires and agendas and temporal priorities, we are not worthy of Him.
Then, at the end of His "sermon" He says, "Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." He said similar things quite often apparently...
Later in Matthew 16:24-25 He says, "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever WOULD save his life, will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."
Tough words.
But words that actually end on a positive note.
It's that positive element that I so easily miss. All the time.
I have realized lately that I am a pain-avoider. I've bought into the American paradigm that the worst circumstance possible in this life is to be in a place of suffering. Suffering is the ONE thing that Americans fear above all else...and it's killing the church! Neutralizing it, actually.
...and needlessly...
What God has been teaching me is that I have been so focused and fearful of the "losing your life" element that I have minimized the promise that AS we lose our lives for Christ's sake and the sake of the Kingdom, we will actually FIND our lives!
I have so often read these verses and left them with the taste of oppression and aversion in my mouth.
Why?
Is my view of God, my Heavenly Father, really so pathetic as THAT?
Apparently...it is.
Maybe your view of God is that pathetic...hopefully not.
Here's the deal: If the One who GAVE UP HIS LIFE says that losing our lives for His sake leads to finding them...why would we focus on the "losing" part and not emphasize the "finding" part more?!
I'll tell you why...
Lies. Lies!
I...perhaps we...listen to the lies of the enemy...lies like...if you are willing to surrender to Christ, if you're REALLY willing to lose your life, it's really gonna hurt...gonna be painful...gonna be miserable...as a matter of fact, you're gonna resent it 'cause it will never be worth it.
Hmmm...what's the TRUTH say: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Rom 8:18). And, "For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Cor 4:17).
So, when Jesus challenges us to LOSE our lives in order to FIND them...He's telling us how to really experience LIFE.
Don't miss that...'cause so often, I have.
Jesus says that if anyone loves father or mother more than Him, he/she is not worthy of Him. Or if anyone loves son or daughter more than Him, he/she is not worthy of Him...WOW!! Put THAT in our child-centered idolatrous culture "pipe" and smoke it!
He says that if we don't take up a lifestyle of dying to self, of crucifixion of selfish desires and agendas and temporal priorities, we are not worthy of Him.
Then, at the end of His "sermon" He says, "Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." He said similar things quite often apparently...
Later in Matthew 16:24-25 He says, "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever WOULD save his life, will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."
Tough words.
But words that actually end on a positive note.
It's that positive element that I so easily miss. All the time.
I have realized lately that I am a pain-avoider. I've bought into the American paradigm that the worst circumstance possible in this life is to be in a place of suffering. Suffering is the ONE thing that Americans fear above all else...and it's killing the church! Neutralizing it, actually.
...and needlessly...
What God has been teaching me is that I have been so focused and fearful of the "losing your life" element that I have minimized the promise that AS we lose our lives for Christ's sake and the sake of the Kingdom, we will actually FIND our lives!
I have so often read these verses and left them with the taste of oppression and aversion in my mouth.
Why?
Is my view of God, my Heavenly Father, really so pathetic as THAT?
Apparently...it is.
Maybe your view of God is that pathetic...hopefully not.
Here's the deal: If the One who GAVE UP HIS LIFE says that losing our lives for His sake leads to finding them...why would we focus on the "losing" part and not emphasize the "finding" part more?!
I'll tell you why...
Lies. Lies!
I...perhaps we...listen to the lies of the enemy...lies like...if you are willing to surrender to Christ, if you're REALLY willing to lose your life, it's really gonna hurt...gonna be painful...gonna be miserable...as a matter of fact, you're gonna resent it 'cause it will never be worth it.
Hmmm...what's the TRUTH say: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Rom 8:18). And, "For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Cor 4:17).
So, when Jesus challenges us to LOSE our lives in order to FIND them...He's telling us how to really experience LIFE.
Don't miss that...'cause so often, I have.
Friday, April 16, 2010
LOST Souls Changed
Aright...I'll admit it...I am one of the millions who have been sucked into the TV show, "LOST." It actually all started on a mission trip where the missionaries my daughter and I were staying with had the first season on DVD...man, series on DVD are hazardous to your sleep patterns!
During the latest episode last Tuesday night, we heard one of the main characters, Jack, a doctor, verbalize what we've all been able to see this season...he's changed. I guess the change started some time ago, but we've never heard it so clearly stated.
Jack, as a doctor, had been the Leader among the plane crash victims on the island for some time. He was sort of a shepherd/warrior for the survivors (huh, come to think of it, his name IS Jack SHEPHERD!). Jack has always been the "man of science" on the show, not really the man of faith. But over time, faith has begun to form in his soul...mainly because he has come to realize that his compulsivity of control has not delivered the results he's so desperately desired.
So, we've seen Jack give up control for the most part this season. We've seen him learn to rest and avoid his compulsive tendency to try to fix everything and everyone. And in Tuesday's episode he actually verbalizes to Hugo that he's learned how to let go of his need to control and fix situations. You can tell Jack is different...he seems so much more at peace.
Now, why all these words on a glorified Soap Opera? Well, in all honesty, a lot of us are LOST souls like Jack. There are MANY of us who live under the illusion that we are actually in control. We obsessively and compulsively try to fix things as well as seek to control our circumstances so as to achieve a pain-free life. Some people stay LOST their entire lives. They never learn the reality that, try as we might, we are NOT in control.
The Christ-follower must learn, sooner or later, that God is the only Person Who is in control in this Universe. He is the Creator and Sustainer of everything. He is the Warrior/SHEPHERD in the Universe and only He can be trusted with everything that concerns us.
Don't get me wrong...I'm being far from simplistic here...and I'm certainly not condoning fatalism. You see, there ARE folk out there, perhaps even reading this, who use God's Existence as an excuse for laziness and irresponsibility (hey, I can only deal with one issue at a time, OK?). The fact is, God is absolutely sovereign and we are completely responsible. It's called mystery...and those who are able to navigate through the tension of this mystery live the most fulfilled and satisfied and peaceful lives.
God is absolutely sovereign...He is the Orchestra Conductor of all the music of our lives...He is the Great Author of our Stories, but sometimes we don't understand where the Story is going. We ARE called to LIVE: we are NOT lifeless sticks floating down some current in a river with nothing to do; so, we must learn when to move and when to wait. We must learn when to rest and when to strive. It's not always easy...which is why an intimate walk with God through reading and applying the Scriptures is so vital. It's also why living in community with others who know both us and God well is so helpful...I mean, after all, You Don't Know What You Don't Know...but often times, others DO know what WE don't!
If you've not done so lately...read through the Psalms. Notice how many times we are called to "Wait" for the LORD! Let me help you out here a bit: Ps 25:3,5,21; Ps 27:14 (actually the Psalm I was reading this morning that got this whole BLOG thing started today!); Ps 31:24; Ps 37:7,9,34; Ps 38:15; Ps 52:9; Ps 62:5; Ps 130:5.
Go ahead...read those portions of the Bible...it won't take long...
Now, ask yourself...are you an "old Jack," obsessively and compulsively trying to control your own life, and the lives of others (i.e. your spouse, your children...) to maintain some semblance of order and comfort that is actually driving you (and others!) to near neuroses? Or, are you learning, by God's grace and through His Spirit, by prayer and faith, Scripture and Community, to give up control and starting, even if they are "baby steps," to "wait for the LORD?"
It's a pretty clear choice actually....trust yourself: a fallen, finite human being with limited resources; OR, trust your Father in Heaven Who is infinite in wisdom, love, goodness, mercy and righteousness and possesses unlimited power and resources. What's it gonna be?
And of course, it's a daily battle...none of us succeed all the time...or even most of the time. That's why we need Christ so desperately.
The temptation is always there to re-take control. During the episode Tuesday night, Hugo responds to Jack and says, "How do you know that you giving up control isn't going to lead to all of us being killed?" Hmmmm.
As soon as you start to wrestle with resting and trusting, there will always be someone or something to start the obsessive/compulsive desire to control to spin up to speed again.
Resist it, firm in your faith...and Wait for the Lord!
By the way...were you able to tell that I MYSELF am a Recovering Control Freak??
During the latest episode last Tuesday night, we heard one of the main characters, Jack, a doctor, verbalize what we've all been able to see this season...he's changed. I guess the change started some time ago, but we've never heard it so clearly stated.
Jack, as a doctor, had been the Leader among the plane crash victims on the island for some time. He was sort of a shepherd/warrior for the survivors (huh, come to think of it, his name IS Jack SHEPHERD!). Jack has always been the "man of science" on the show, not really the man of faith. But over time, faith has begun to form in his soul...mainly because he has come to realize that his compulsivity of control has not delivered the results he's so desperately desired.
So, we've seen Jack give up control for the most part this season. We've seen him learn to rest and avoid his compulsive tendency to try to fix everything and everyone. And in Tuesday's episode he actually verbalizes to Hugo that he's learned how to let go of his need to control and fix situations. You can tell Jack is different...he seems so much more at peace.
Now, why all these words on a glorified Soap Opera? Well, in all honesty, a lot of us are LOST souls like Jack. There are MANY of us who live under the illusion that we are actually in control. We obsessively and compulsively try to fix things as well as seek to control our circumstances so as to achieve a pain-free life. Some people stay LOST their entire lives. They never learn the reality that, try as we might, we are NOT in control.
The Christ-follower must learn, sooner or later, that God is the only Person Who is in control in this Universe. He is the Creator and Sustainer of everything. He is the Warrior/SHEPHERD in the Universe and only He can be trusted with everything that concerns us.
Don't get me wrong...I'm being far from simplistic here...and I'm certainly not condoning fatalism. You see, there ARE folk out there, perhaps even reading this, who use God's Existence as an excuse for laziness and irresponsibility (hey, I can only deal with one issue at a time, OK?). The fact is, God is absolutely sovereign and we are completely responsible. It's called mystery...and those who are able to navigate through the tension of this mystery live the most fulfilled and satisfied and peaceful lives.
God is absolutely sovereign...He is the Orchestra Conductor of all the music of our lives...He is the Great Author of our Stories, but sometimes we don't understand where the Story is going. We ARE called to LIVE: we are NOT lifeless sticks floating down some current in a river with nothing to do; so, we must learn when to move and when to wait. We must learn when to rest and when to strive. It's not always easy...which is why an intimate walk with God through reading and applying the Scriptures is so vital. It's also why living in community with others who know both us and God well is so helpful...I mean, after all, You Don't Know What You Don't Know...but often times, others DO know what WE don't!
If you've not done so lately...read through the Psalms. Notice how many times we are called to "Wait" for the LORD! Let me help you out here a bit: Ps 25:3,5,21; Ps 27:14 (actually the Psalm I was reading this morning that got this whole BLOG thing started today!); Ps 31:24; Ps 37:7,9,34; Ps 38:15; Ps 52:9; Ps 62:5; Ps 130:5.
Go ahead...read those portions of the Bible...it won't take long...
Now, ask yourself...are you an "old Jack," obsessively and compulsively trying to control your own life, and the lives of others (i.e. your spouse, your children...) to maintain some semblance of order and comfort that is actually driving you (and others!) to near neuroses? Or, are you learning, by God's grace and through His Spirit, by prayer and faith, Scripture and Community, to give up control and starting, even if they are "baby steps," to "wait for the LORD?"
It's a pretty clear choice actually....trust yourself: a fallen, finite human being with limited resources; OR, trust your Father in Heaven Who is infinite in wisdom, love, goodness, mercy and righteousness and possesses unlimited power and resources. What's it gonna be?
And of course, it's a daily battle...none of us succeed all the time...or even most of the time. That's why we need Christ so desperately.
The temptation is always there to re-take control. During the episode Tuesday night, Hugo responds to Jack and says, "How do you know that you giving up control isn't going to lead to all of us being killed?" Hmmmm.
As soon as you start to wrestle with resting and trusting, there will always be someone or something to start the obsessive/compulsive desire to control to spin up to speed again.
Resist it, firm in your faith...and Wait for the Lord!
By the way...were you able to tell that I MYSELF am a Recovering Control Freak??
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